A Fred by Any Other Name
by Meum Cerebrum Nocet
Summary: As the second Fred Weasley to grace the halls of Hogwarts, he knew he had a large reputation to live up to. A Fred Weasley by any other name would still prank the same.


_**Summary: **__As the second Fred Weasley to grace the halls of Hogwarts, he knew he had a large reputation to live up to. A Fred Weasley by any other name would still prank the same._

_**A/N: **__Happy Gred and Forge day my pretties! Super stoked because I can almost see the end of this crazy school year. As of right now, I only have one more essay left to write! Hope you enjoy my little story!_

_**Disclaimer: **__I own no recognizable content._

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**A Fred by Any Other Name**

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_Expectation is the mother of frustration._

_~Antonio Banderas*_

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Fred Weasley knew the minute he stepped onto the train that his father's reputation was still widely known, even after all these years. Eyes followed him as he and his best friend Dominic Jordan searched for an empty compartment. Whispers of fireworks and giant swamps flitted around him. Instantly, he knew he was expected to live up to his name and carry on the Fred (and George) pranking legacy.

He didn't pull anything immediately. He was still figuring out the school. He wanted to know the personalities of the professors and how they'd react to rule flouncing. He wasn't about to go pranking blind. Instead, Fred meticulously prepared each step so it would go off without a hitch. He spent many hours in the library –a surprise to a great many students- with his nose buried deep in spell and charm books. He expended a great deal of time befriending the school poltergeist, Peeves, a fairly difficult task. He did all of this before he even thought about attempting a prank.

Finally, on the third Monday of the school year, Fred decided he was ready to proudly uphold the family pranking legacy.

"Today's the day I make my dad proud," he whispered to Dominic at breakfast, "hope Peeves behaves himself." Dominic chuckled to himself. Fred shot him a look at his 'dissention.' The usually carefree boy had become very tense at the weight of the school's expectations. This had to be epic.

Spotting Peeves wreaking havoc with a few Hufflepuffs' breakfast, Fred quickly got the ghost's attention and sent him the signal that today was the day. The ghost winked in response and slowly made his way up to the staff table.

And then it began.

Peeves picked up the large plate of pancakes and hurled it right in the face of the aging Charms professor. He then continued to fling the remainder of the staff table around the room, hitting both staff and students.

"Food fight!" Dominic yelled from his place at the Gryffindor table after Peeves had nearly cleared the staff table. The student body burst out into war cries and began chucking food all over the Great Hall.

In the resulting chaos, Fred slipped out into the hallway. The first half of his plan was going swimmingly. Now he just had to make sure that he remembered all the steps to the spell he needed.

Fred scanned the surrounding area to ensure that he was alone before he withdrew his wand, waved it in the proper manner and whispered the spell.

"Oppleo," he spoke. Smoke drifted from his wand and began floating across the floor. It quickly filled the entire entryway and continued on throughout the rest of the school. Fred waited until the smoke began to clear from his immediate surroundings and, upon seeing his success, returned to the chaos in the Great Hall. Behind him sat hundreds of glass goblets, filling the entire entry and all of the halls of Hogwarts.

He quickly located Dominic under the Gryffindor table. The dark haired male gave the Weasley a questioning look and he responded with an ecstatic smile.

It took nearly ten minutes for the professors to get the food fighting students under control and then another five to admonish them all. Eventually, they were excused and allowed to head off to class. Fred waited a few moments, pretending to finish a piece of toast, before he headed off to the exit of the hall.

He quietly observed as the group of students at the front of the exiting mass stopped just outside the doors. Those behind them called out and attempted to see what had halted them. Through the quickly arising commotion, Fred heard the one sound he had been waiting for. One of the people in the group at the front must have bent down to pick up one of the goblets. Once a finger touched the glass, it shattered.

And then, in one single instance, the rest of them shattered, their contents quickly filling the entry and rushing to find space. As the goblets throughout the rest of the school also shattered, a wave of water surged into the Great Hall, soaking every single person.

The water then vanished, but groans and exclamations of disgust rose up. Fred saw his opportunity. He stood atop the Gryffindor table and loudly cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the nearly hysterical crowd.

"The Wealsey's are back at Hogwarts."

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_The end_

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_**A/N: **__Short, but sweet! Let me know what you thought!_

_*Not sure if he was the first one to say it, but when I found this quote he was given the credit._


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